Lawyer Self-discipline
Regardless of pardon, courtroom says disbarment may be applicable for lawyer who stormed the Capitol
Police making an attempt to carry Jan. 6, 2021, rioters on the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photograph/Andrew Harnik)
Public reprimand was not sufficient punishment for a lawyer who admitted to getting into the U.S. Capitol Constructing with rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Court docket not too long ago discovered.
The Jan. 21 opinion entails W. McCall Calhoun Jr., and rejects the State Bar of Georgia and a particular grasp’s advice that he obtain public reprimand. Proof consists of Calhoun’s social media posts, which “clearly counsel” that he supposed to take part in a “violent takeover” of the capital, in line with the opinion.
“If Calhoun was as concerned as his posts point out, then it’s laborious for us to see how something lower than disbarment will be accepted right here,” the courtroom wrote in a unanimous opinion. The matter is remanded for additional proceedings.
Calhoun didn’t instantly reply to an ABA Journal interview request. On Jan. 9, 2021, he informed the Atlanta Journal Constitution that individuals who compelled their approach into the Capitol had been “heroic” and “patriotic.”
The Americus, Georgia, lawyer was convicted of felony and misdemeanor costs associated to the Jan. 6 occasions. President Donald Trump granted Calhoun a pardon for all of the offenses in January 2025.
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